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Daris Howard

Daris Howard

About

    Daris Howard, an award winning author and playwright, grew up on an Idaho farm.  He was a state champion athlete, competed in college athletics, and lived for a time in New York.   
    He has worked as a cowboy, a mechanic, in farming, and in the timber industry.  He is now a college professor.  In his wide range of experience, he has associated with many colorful characters who form a basis for his writing.
    Daris has had plays translated into German and French, and his plays have been performed in many countries around the world.
    For many years Daris has written a popular column called Life’s Outtakes that consists of weekly short stories, and is published in various newspapers and magazines in the U.S. and Canada including Country, Horizons, and Family Living
    Daris, and his wife, Donna, have ten children and were foster parents for several years.  He has also worked in scouting and cub scouts, at one time having 18 boys in his scout troop.
    As a math professor, Daris’s classes are well known for the stories he tells to liven up discussion and to help bring across the points he is trying to teach.  His scripts and books are much like his stories, full of humor and inspiration.
    He and his family have enjoyed running a summer community theatre where he gets a chance to premiere his theatrical works and rework them to make them better. 

 

The Magic Word

The Magic Word

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Description

<p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Elisabeth was rude and selfish and demanding, and therefore had very few friends.<span>  </span>When she sent out invitations to her birthday party, no one accepted.<span>  </span>Her mother warned her that she needed to improve her manners and to try to get along with people.<span>  </span>She told Elisabeth that she needed to use the magic word “Please”.<span>  </span>So when Elisabeth went to school the next day, she thought of her mother’s advice, “What is the magic word?” and she started saying “Please” and also “Thank You”.<span>  </span>She tried to become more thoughtful of others, and discovered that she was a much happier person.<span>  </span>Imagine her pleasure when she returned home to find out that her new friends were all coming to her birthday party!</span><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></p><p></p>

Story Behind The Book

Though the book is not historical fiction, it has elements that anyone reading that genre will love. It is a clean romance, set it a fictitious country. When he is called before the queen, Jacob, the handsome, young Captain of the Royal Guard, is sure it is to discuss the baffling increase in assassination attempts against the royal family. Instead, the queen assigns the shocked young captain to tutor her out-of-control, tomboy daughter, Marie. He knows all of the other tutors have failed miserably, and he tries to beg out of it, but the queen will not relent. However, she does give him leave to use any teaching method he likes. Her ultimate command is that she be trained as a lady in preparation for her royal ball. Angry and humiliated at what he feels is a degrading and impossible assignment, especially for a military captain, he determines to train the princess like he would one of his guardsmen. He will demand strong discipline, tough academics, and sword combat training. He is sure that his rigorous approach will push the princess to complain to her mother, who will then remove him from the assignment. But to his surprise, Marie instead responds positively to the harsh discipline, and becomes a princess like no other. And, when they come under attack, her training might be just enough to save both of their lives as they work to unravel who is behind the assassination attempts, and also try to solve the mystery of why the Lord High Chamberlain is such a great sword fighter.

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